


if you see me (you haven't seen nothing yet)

by msermesth



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Avengers Vol. 1 (1963), Hurt/Comfort, Identity Porn, M/M, Tales of Suspense Vol. 1 (1959), holograms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 13:50:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18852349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msermesth/pseuds/msermesth
Summary: Steve and Tony were kinda, sorta, dating. But that was before Iron Man’s already damaged heart took a critical blow, leaving him now stuck in the armor.Also, Steve doesn’t know Tony’s Iron Man. It’s a problem.





	if you see me (you haven't seen nothing yet)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Cap-IM RBB 2019 Team ASSEMBLE Artwork](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18860413) by [essouffle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/essouffle/pseuds/essouffle). 



> For the Cap-IM 2019 RBB. I was so lucky to get to work with [essouffle](https://essouffle.tumblr.com/). Their art is so beautiful, and gave me a lot of feels about Tony The Hologram. 
> 
> This fic is set in waaaaaay early canon almost right after Steve's defrosted, but the setting is current day. 
> 
> All the thanks to Ironlawyer, who provided a very helpful and supportive beta when I really needed it.

“Wow, Cap, what a lucky catch!” Tony shouted over the din of curious onlookers who were beginning to crowd them as the battle wound down. Hank had captured the last of the Masters of Evil a block away, and over by them, Janet had managed to tie up the Melter and Radioactive Man just fine while they waited for the police to take them.

Steve smiled under the cowl, a big, breathtaking, show of teeth that should've looked cheesy on anyone who wore a costume that tight, but instead just made Tony’s heart skip a couple of dangerous beats. “Couldn’t have done it without you, Shellhead,” he replied, like it was nothing to capture The Black Knight’s Power Lance from so far away. Tony was not even sure what he did to earn Steve’s praise. He let the warm words sink in; he would wait to argue against Steve’s sequence of events in the mission report. Instead he clasped his gauntlet encased hand on Steve’s shoulder. Steve just grinned wider. The sight of it took the air out of Tony’s lungs and he worried he would need to return home sooner than he thought to charge the chestplate.

“I’m glad you’re one of us.” Tony meant it. Steve was the extra ingredient the Avengers hadn't known they needed. Everything just worked with him around. He got along famously with Thor and Janet and Hank, always cracking jokes at meetings and assisting in the field like he came prepackaged for maximum avenging.

It was probably too soon to say it, but Tony was in love.

Steve kept smiling, light and with none of the lost-puppy look he wore so often since they found him in the ice. Post-battle was when he looked the most serene; Tony was going to bask until it dissipated into existential questioning. “Iron Man, has there been any more information regarding your employer? The news has been stipulating all sorts of crazy things.” Steve’s tone made it clear what he thought about modern journalistic standards.

Alarm bells rang in Tony’s head. _Red Alert: Danger_. _Eject, eject, eject._ This was dangerous territory. Steve was trying to be coy, but Tony saw the question underneath. No matter how many texts Tony sent Steve complaining about how he was busy at work or that he was halfway around the world, and _oh no, I think I have the flu_ , it couldn’t cover up for the fact that Tony Stark’s absence was beginning to draw attention and that Steve had a personal interest in where Tony was. The press, well, Tony could handle them. Steve, on the other hand, was Captain America and maybe his almost boyfriend, and it was clear he was running out of opportunities to mislead him from looking too far into his instantaneous disappearance.

Less than three weeks ago, Steve asked Tony out on a date. It went better than Tony could ever dream and led to another date, and then another, and then a long walk in Central Park that didn’t end until the sun came up and Steve kissed him in front of the mansion. It was glorious and it was the most dangerous thing Tony was involved in right now, particularly because Steve had no idea Tony _was_ Iron Man.

And that was before a week ago, when Tony returned from a mission so beat up that to keep his heart beating, he didn’t just need the chestplate, but the entire Iron Man armor. A problem which left his secret identity MIA to the world.

“Tony Stark--” Tony preferred to refer to himself by his full name when he was Iron Man, it added a small layer of separation, “--just needs some time away from the public eye, but he’s doing good. I’ll tell him you asked.”

“Thank you,” Steve said, his voice gone distant and thoughtful, causing Tony to wilt as Steve’s mood shifted. “I hope he feels better soon.”

This time Tony’s heart _did_ skip a few beats, freezing the air in his lungs and acting as a poorly timed reminder that his heart was operating on borrowed time. “I’ll tell him that, too, when I get a chance,” Tony said in one quick breath. He needed to get out of here; he needed to be in his workshop, charging his life support.

“That would mean a lot to me.” Steve was looking out into the distance, completely unaware that Tony was in crisis. And how could he know? Why would he ever suspect that Tony Stark and Iron Man were the same man, and that Tony’s heart was so damaged that he hadn't been able to remove the armor for fear that he would die?

It would take Tony ten minutes to get back to the mansion. He hoped he had that sort of time. “I’ll make sure he calls you as soon as he can. I got to get on the road, though, see you soon, Cap!” Tony rushed to finish the last of the sentence and was in the air before Steve had a chance to respond.

 

* * *

 

It was by the skin of his teeth that he made it back to the mansion and the privacy of the office. There it was safe to remove the helmet and his gauntlets. He left on the rest of the armor to absorb all the charge he could get before someone came around looking for either him or Tony, not the true agglomeration of the both of them.

It didn’t matter that he could breath safely now, he was still _exhausted_ \--worn out by the trifecta of running a global corporation, avenging, and maintaining a secret identity. It was just too much.

Tony slinked lower against the wall and shifted his focus to Steve fighting, Steve smiling, Steve _talking_ , which only reminded him he made a rather dangerous promise.

But Steve had asked, and Tony had committed, so as always, this predicament was his own fault.

Tony sighed and pushed himself off the floor, leaning against the wall as he did. He itched to take the suit off just long enough to take a shower, but his heart was so weak it needed all the extra juice the entirety of the suit could provide. Which meant there was no way Tony Stark was going to be entertaining Steve anytime soon.

He was just going to need to get it over with, tell Steve that Tony Stark was laying on a beach somewhere and definitely didn’t want to be dating him, and not spending all of his time in his workshop in the basement. He had been lying to Happy and Pepper for this long, how could this be any worse?

Tony grumbled and unsteadily walked to the computer monitor on the far side of the room before pulling up the holographic keyboard in front of him. He couldn’t ignore the heavy disappointment sitting in his chest, taking up too much room next to his ruined heart. Spending time with Steve as Tony Stark was never going to be a good idea, but he was still touched that Steve didn’t know that yet, or that he wasn't curious why Steve had taken such a liking to him.

His hands moved swiftly across the transparent, holographic keys as he began to do his own mission report. “Wait…” he muttered, the thoughts not taking hold in sequence with his surprise. “What if…”

And suddenly the mission report could wait. Tony had an idea. Or better yet, a new technology to try out.

 

* * *

 

“Play it back,” Tony said as he watched the blue glowing copy of himself in front of him. The hologram was slightly transparent, like the proprietary tech Tony had been developing for his communication devices. It looked just like him if he had been wearing a simple white t-shirt instead of being trapped in his armor.

“Hi, Steve,” the hologram parroted back and Tony winced. There was no way he sounded like that, so awkward and lovelorn.

Tony stood up and started pacing. He had to figure this out soon so he could talk to Steve. “Ok, let’s try it again. One, two, three. Record.” Tony stopped where he was standing, mimed knocking on a door and waited a couple of seconds before asking, “How’re you doing?” to thin air. He paused before cutting off the recording with a movement of his hand and then motioned for the hologram to repeat him.

It did, and it didn’t look good. With a sigh, Tony sat down heavily on his desk chair. There was one of two possible problems going on here. Either the hologram was improperly copying his actions, or Tony really was failing at being the suave man everyone expected him to be. “Remove the delay,” Tony ordered the hologram. Instantly the hologram was sitting on air, in the same position Tony was. Tony waved, it waved. Tony coughed, it coughed. Tony pulled his shoulder back to straighten his posture, the hologram did the same.

“Pull up the video feed.” Tony and the hologram said in unison. The screen on the far side of room switched on and Tony was looking at the oddest thing--himself, through the holograms visual inputs. It was just what Tony had intended when he had come up with this idea and it was _bizarre_.

He could have spent weeks upon weeks testing, but Happy and Pepper and the public were growing more and more concerned by his disappearance. This was the best way to stave off their questions. Tony--the real one, the flesh and blood--would be Iron Man, and his hologram would be Tony Stark, the billionaire playboy funder of the Avengers.

Tony smoothed down the bristles of his mustache and watched the effect as his hologram did the same. It would never not be weird. “Now’s better than never,” he told himself. “Independent movement activate,” he told the computer. Instantly the hologram’s stance shifted, his legs stood a little closer together and his shoulder slouched just enough that Tony could tell the hologram was mimicking how he would hold himself outside of the armor, instead as he was now. _Are you ready?_ Tony asked both it and himself. The hologram just watched back, eyebrow crooked. It wouldn’t talk until Tony wanted it to.

 _Now’s better than never_ , Tony thought, reminding himself why had come up with this idea in the first place.

Tony thought about walking to Steve’s bedroom door, and the hologram walked out of the room. He followed the video feed that was working as Tony’s eyes as it turned the corner and crossed the (too short) distance between where the two of them lived.

 

* * *

 

Steve heard a knock at the door and looked up from where he was examining a bruise under his eye in the mirror. It had already been a long day fighting and his head was still throbbing from an especially well landed punch. He hadn't even had time to get out of his Captain America regalia. “One second,” he responded. Steve opened the door just enough that he could slip his head outside. By now he’d thought there was nothing that could surprise him, yet he was looking at a blue and translucent Tony Stark. “Tony?” he asked confused and incredibly worried something ever more serious had happened.

There was a slight delay in Tony’s response, as if he, too, needed time to process what was going on. “The one and only.”

Steve didn’t know if he should believe that.

Silence followed. Steve didn’t know what to say. Luckily, the thing in front of him did. “You may be wondering why I’m blue, and you, know…” he waved his arm and Steve saw the wall behind it the entire time. “See-through.” Steve nodded, because yes, he was wondering about that. “What you’re looking at is a hologram of me. I know you’ve heard that I’ve been missing in action, but I’ve just been working on a very important project “

That explanation didn’t stop Steve from cocking an eyebrow. “How important?” He had even more questions than that, but that one seemed paramount.

“Incredibly. Top secret. I wouldn’t keep it from you unless I had to.” The hologram bit his lip, and even blue, Tony’s face could be so expressive.

 _That’s is if it’s actually Tony_ , Steve thought. _That’s if the future is simple enough I can trust the transparent person in front of me._

The hologram’s face fell. “You can trust me, I promise,” it said, like he knew exactly what Steve was thinking.

The problem was Steve wanted to. Over the last week he found that his missed Tony more than he could have ever expected. The suave billionaire was somehow one of his closest friends, and then there was the maybe-sorta-could-be-a-thing between them where somehow Tony Stark was romantically interested in him.

But then Tony disappeared with nothing but vague texts that didn’t pin down his location and Steve had been beginning to feel more and more like he did in the beginning--that he wasn’t enough for a man like Tony.

“How do I know?” Steve asked, even though he didn’t want to, even though it hurt to think that anyone would attempt to use Tony against him. Unfortunately, the future was like that.

Tony looked around the hallway nervously, and then leaned in so that the Steve was almost nose to nose. “You took me to a bakery down the street of where you grew up on our first date because it had the best cookies you can remember.” The hologram smiled, sheepish, nervous, not like he was concerned he had the story wrong, but that he was worried someone would overhear.

“Except they changed owners and now it’s _awful_ ,” Steve replied, still not sure this wasn’t an imposter. It wouldn’t have been hard to tail him around the Lower East Side. Steve had certainly done much more difficult espionage during the war. It wasn’t like Steve had been quiet about his displeasure at discovering how some things that always felt immutable had changed, even if Tony had pretended for quite a while that he had liked it.

The hologram laughed, like it was a fond memory, and Steve wanted so much to trust it. Maybe if the circumstances of Tony’s disappearance hadn't been so odd and hush hush, he could. The laughter hung in the air for a second too long and ended awkward and abrupt. “So, anyway, Iron Man told me that you were asking about me and I figured a visit was better than a text.”

“It’s much better,” Steve replied, maybe a touch bitter, but then he heard how it sounded coming out of his mouth, and thought better of it. He still didn’t know if it was Tony or not, and he hated the idea of being mean to Tony. “Tell Iron Man I’m really glad he talked to you. I hope you can come home soon.”

“Definitely, cool, ok,” The hologram said quickly before he disappeared into thin air. Nothing about how he said it sounded ‘definitely’, ‘cool’, or ‘ok’.

That settled it for Steve. He liked to think that he was a good judge of character, that he could get a sense for a person by the way they held themselves. Having seen the hologram’s exit, Steve knew that even if it wasn’t Tony, it wasn’t anything to be scared of.

 

* * *

 

Tony slumped low in the chair, and its hinges whined at how the weight of the armor put too much pressure on the arm rests. “That was a disaster,” he said to the empty office. The room didn’t respond, because thankfully Tony had disabled the hologram and all of the commands that were built into it, but the silence was answer enough. That plan had been a dumpster-fire.

When he had considered all of the possible problems that could arise from this plan, he hadn’t thought that one of them could be Steve being suspicious. Tony had gotten so used to Steve’s earnest acceptance of the future that he had forgotten that the man had enough bad experiences to not take everything at face value. Even right now, Tony was sure Steve was going to look more into his disappearance and the source of the hologram, and that was definitely a problem.

Tony banged the back of his head repeatedly against the backrest of the chair. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he chanted as he tried to get a grip. He had to do something, and fast. His head was getting lighter, his heart beating with a little more effort, and he used his armored feet to push him and the chair near the electrical outlet that held his chest plate charging device. “Pull it back up,” he ordered the room with a long sigh as he plunged himself in into the wall and felt the familiar jolt as oxygen began to move faster through his veins.

The hologram was just like it was before, blue, transparent, and a spitting image of Tony. It was stuck stock still, frozen into place until Tony gave it more instructions, and Tony was glad at that. The thing made him uncomfortable, and after what had just happened, it made him feel a little bit like a failure. “What do I do with you?” he asked the light in front of him. He needed one more chance to convince Steve before it was too late.

 

* * *

 

The call to avenge came just as Steve was about to fall asleep, filling the mansion so loud and fast that Steve was on his feet in seconds. He dressed so quickly that he was still pulling on his boots while he hopped out his bedroom door.

“Hiya, Cap,” Iron Man greeted him, already ready to go. “I sounded the signal. Looks like the Masters of Evil again and haven't heard from either Hank and Jan or Thor. I guess we’re on our own until we know more.” His voice was mechanical, filtered through the voice modulator he used to keep his secret identity.

Steve nodded and followed Iron Man to the den and the balcony overlooking Fifth Avenue. There was one benefit of just having the two of them in the field--it simplified their transportation. They were still getting used to it, but Steve wrapped his arms around Iron Man’s waist just in time for both of them to jet off into the sky.

Iron Man filled him in with the situation they were about to enter. It sounded like classic sort of stuff--The Masters of Evil had released a swarm of bees in Central Park--so a normal Wednesday.

Iron Man dropped Steve a little off the ground, giving him enough room to somersault and land a kick in the Executioner's ribs. Zemo was monologuing somewhere close, trying to lure Steve closer to where an especially dense cloud of bees was hovering, but Steve saw through his plan. Zemo was predictable like that.

Instead, Steve looked up to see Iron Man battling the Enchantress in a flash of light. For a second all Steve could think about was how amazing it was that Iron Man could fly, but then Iron Man was falling and falling and _oh god_ , _he’s not going to stop._ Steve ran as fast as his legs could go, and then even faster than that, faster then he knew, but it wasn’t enough. Iron Man crashed into the grass fifteen feet away with enough force that Steve felt the ground shake beneath him. “Iron Man!” Steve screamed. He almost tripped on the grass as he approached, and fell onto his knees right in front of the red and gold armor.

Iron Man was still, and if he was breathing, it was undetectable under the metal. Without thinking, Steve looked for latches or releases, anything he could use to tear the armor from him and help the man underneath. He was sure he found something on Iron Man’s left flank when a cold gauntlet held his wrist and kept him from doing more to open it. “No, please, no,” Steve heard, the voice so soft and odd sounding he didn’t immediately register that it belonged to Iron Man. “I’m… fine, I’ll be, I mean…” Iron Man’s voice sounded drained, barely there, like something was wrong with the way he was breathing. “Just need... uh… please…”

“What do you need?” Steve asked when it became clear that Iron Man didn’t have the ability to articulate much of anything. He wanted to help, but had no idea how.

“Home. _Stark_ ,” were the only two words that drifted out of the face plate, but Steve knew what they meant. He lifted Iron Man’s prone form into his arms. The suit was heavy and bulky, and its sharp edges dug into the fabric of the Captain America uniform, yet Steve trudged on. It was slow going across the street to the mansion as Steve was worried any quick movements would do more harm than good, and it was with great trepidation Steve opened the front door and brought him inside. He did all of it without thinking of the criminals across the street. It was just bees. It could wait.

Iron Man groaned from time to time, but he said nothing else, even when Steve asked where in the mansion he wanted to go. For a few seconds Steve was terrified that Iron Man really wanted Steve to take him to _his_ home, wherever that was and he berated himself for not having anything planned for an emergency like this. Anonymity had made sense before this, when Iron Man had seemed so invincible. Now? Not so much.

The only person Steve knew who could help was Tony Stark, and the man was notoriously difficult to find at the moment. Steve expected to have to shout for Jarvis when he entered the mansion’s doors, but he was surprised to find the hologram that looked just like Tony waiting for him on the stairs. “Tony?” Steve asked, because time was too precious to be suspicious.

The hologram smiled, a small thing, and said, “Can you get him up the stairs? He needs help right away.”

Steve nodded and followed it up the stairs, taking them two at a time while still taking extra care not to jostle Iron Man’s almost lifeless body. By the time he was on the landing, the hologram had the door to Mr. Stark’s office open. Steve gently carried him through the small opening, following the hologram as it gestured to place Iron Man on the floor. “Is he going to be ok?” Steve asked, even if he knew there was no way Mr. Stark could answer the question yet.

“He’ll be fine,” the hologram answered. “Thank you for bringing him here--” he did really look thankful, his soft smile met his eyes, “--but Iron Man’s going to need his privacy now.”

“No,” Steve responded reflexively. He had begun to come around the possibility that the hologram was Tony Stark, but not completely. Not enough to leave his teammate alone. “I’m going to stay here.

The hologram sighed. “Am I ever going to be able to convince you I’m the real deal?”

“I hope you will.” It was the honest thing to say, even if made the hologram’s shoulders slump.

“Iron Man trusts m--” it began to say, but then it futzed, blurred, cut out like the picture of an old television before returning back to where he used to stand. “We need to help him, right now.” It was scared, Steve could see it now. It’s voice shook and warbled. Something was very, very wrong.

“What can I do?” Steve asked, kneeling down next to Iron Man and trying again to find anything to release the armor.

The hologram snapped in and out again. “Do--see--ext--sion cord?” Almost every other word was cutting out.

Steve looked around and saw it in the corner. He nodded, and picked it up. The end not plugged into the wall was oddly shaped.

“Plug--right--re.” A blue finger pointed at a latch on Iron Man’s chest. Steve disconnected it only to find what looked like an outlet behind it. He looked again at the hologram, scared he was going to electrocute Iron Man, but it was slowly fading out until Steve could see nothing. There was something ominous in how it fell silent and disappeared into the air, something so incredibly creepy and wrong, that time expanded. Steve needed to do something, he needed to fix this situation, he _needed_ to save Iron Man and he no longer had any help.

That desperation drove him to plug in the cord just where the blue finger had pointed. He felt a jolt of electricity move up his arm when he finished, and heard a shaking gasp for air underneath the Iron Man mask. He startled, as much from the sound of Iron Man’s life as from the shock under his skin. “Iron Man!” he shouted, loud enough it reverberated around the small room. He wished he had a pulse to check. “Are you ok?”

“Cap?” Iron Man responded. The voice modulator was tuning in and out, and Steve could have sworn he heard the voice of a real man underneath it.

“I plugged you in, just like I was told by Tony’s hologram, I mean, how Tony _\--_ ” he changed, because now he had no doubt that the hologram was Tony Stark all along. No one else would be as prepared to help.

“Good… that’s good,” Iron Man mumbled, his words sounding like static as the voice modulator began to work completely. He lifted his hand and made a weak ‘thumbs-up’ gesture. “I’m good.”

Steve returned the gesture out of reflex. “Do you need to see a doctor, or something? That was really scary. You could be hurt.” He really was concerned, especially since Tony had disappeared. Something was off with Iron Man’s physiology. “Or Tony?” he added.

Not one second after Steve had finished asking, the blue, transparent hologram of Tony Stark popped up beside him. “Iron Man’s going to be just fine. He just needs some rest.”

Steve looked between the two and knew Tony was right. “I’m glad, I really am,” Steve said. He only wanted the best for his teammate. And the last ten minutes had been terrifying. “I’ll get going, check on the bees and stuff. Give you some time to recoup.”

The hologram of Tony and Iron Man nodded in unison. “Thanks Cap,” Iron Man said, his modified voice sounded more like it normally did.

“Really, thanks,” Tony added, and he placed a blue hand that Steve couldn’t feel on Steve’s shoulder. “Iron Man wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

The sensation of the hologram's touch was odd, almost discomforting, if it hadn’t come with Tony’s warm smile. “I was happy to. Anything for a fellow Avenger.” He pushed himself off the floor and walked out the door, trusting Tony to look after Iron Man.

He was just twisting the doorknob to the den when a flash of blue materialized in his peripheral vision. “Steve--” Tony began to say. His eyes were wide, hopeful, nothing like his earlier attempt to convince Steve who he was, maybe because he didn’t need to.

Steve butt in before Tony could even finish his thought. “I’m sorry, Tony. I should have trusted you.” Seeing Tony now, happy to just know Steve didn’t doubt him, drove home how hurt he must have been when Steve did.

“It’s fine. Really. I wouldn’t have trusted me either.” Steve felt another pang of guilt at Tony’s words. The man didn’t deserve to feel that way.

Steve opened the door wide and took a step inside before giving Tony a look that invited him to come in. He hoped the privacy would give them more space to speak. From across the street he heard the voices of the Fantastic Four; the Avengers were not needed anymore. “I missed you,” Steve said once they were both inside and no one, not even Iron Man down the hall, could hear him.

It had at first been odd to look into the hologram’s eyes and also see the wall behind them, but now Steve only saw Tony. “I missed you too.” And boy, did it look like he meant it.

“I was really worried about you. I thought something had happened, or you had been avoiding me, or you were dead, or you just didn’t like me, or--”

Tony walked closer and closer to him, causing Steve to take small steps backward until the back of his knees bumped into a desk chair. Without any grace, Steve’s butt fell into the chair and he looked up to see a blue face looking down at him, blue like Tony’s eyes. It shouldn’t have worked, and Steve couldn’t feel a thing, but Tony’s transparent form never stopped until it had climbed on top of him. “Everything’s ok, and I _definitely_ like you.”

He was really close. Steve wanted to kiss him so bad.

Then Steve opened his eyes, and the hologram was gone.

A loud crash rang from down the hall. Steve was on his feet immediately and out the door almost as fast. Privacy be damned; Iron Man had almost died, and the crash had sounded _bad_.

Steve was across the room and next to Iron Man, fallen on the floor, before he even realized Iron Man was no longer wearing his helmet. “Are you ok?” he asked just when the shock hit him. He was looking at a pair of blue eyes, a pair of blue eyes he was very familiar with.

“I can explain,” both Tonys, the one in the armor and the hologram that had appeared beside him, said at the same time. “Goddamnit, turn it off!” And the blue light disappeared in front of Steve’s eyes.

“What the--?” Steve looked at Tony, who was apparently also Iron Man, with outright confusion.

Tony repeated, “I can explain.” He pushed himself so that he was sitting against the wall. “My heart has some problems, and I need the Iron Man armor to keep it ticking.”

Steve had no idea how that explained anything. He gave Tony a look that he hoped conveyed as much.

“It’s a long story, and it’s been going on for a long time, but recently it’s gotten so bad that I need the power from the Iron Man armor to keep it working.”

“You’ve been Iron Man this entire time?” Steve asked, not entirely sure of even that yet.

“Yes. This entire time.” Tony sighed. “But especially in the past week. I couldn’t show my face otherwise everyone would know and…” His shoulders fell. “I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t easy to file that answer away, but there were more important things happening. Steve repeated his earlier question. “Are you ok?” he asked, because Tony had a heart condition and Steve _didn’t know_. “How do you feel?”

Tony smiled, weakly. “Lightheaded. Should have let myself charge more.”

Steve looked between Tony and the cord plugged into the wall. He picked it up and slowly plugged it into the charging port the hologram had shown him earlier. “Is this ok?” Tony nodded. “Good.”

“I’m so sorr--”

Steve leaned down, rested his forehead against Tony’s. “We’ll talk about that later. Now, I’m just glad you’re ok.”

The kiss that followed was worth the wait.


End file.
